http://www.smogon.com/bw/pokemon/gallade/ru
[SET]
name: Substitute + 3 Attacks
move 1: Substitute
move 2: Drain Punch
move 3: Night Slash / Leaf Blade
move 4: Psycho Cut
item: Life Orb
ability: Justified
nature: Jolly
evs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
[SET COMMENTS]
<p>While Gallade is capable of boosting its Attack stat with Swords Dance and Bulk Up, a simple Substitute + 3 Attacks set suits Gallade very nicely. Thanks to the sheer offensive presence Gallade imposes when it enters the battle, it can force many switches, thus buying it time to set up a Substitute to ease prediction and showcase its great coverage.</p>
<p>Substitute shields Gallade from revenge killers and status moves, which are two common methods of dealing with it. Once it's behind a Substitute, Gallade can unleash its great power and coverage to pick apart the opposing team. Drain Punch is the chosen STAB move and it gives this set great staying power. With it, Gallade is able to deal serious damage and heal itself of the HP it lost through making Substitutes and Life Orb recoil. Gallade's coverage move comes down to whether you need it to be more of a standalone attacker or a lure for a teammate. Night Slash is the more useful move for Gallade itself as it easily 2HKOes Uxie, Mesprit, and Sigilyph. This allows Gallade to better handle Uxie, and to seriously dent or KO two of the most common offensive responses to Gallade. However, if you need Gallade to handle physical walls to aid a teammate, then Leaf Blade is perfectly usable. With it, Gallade is able to take on the likes of Alomomola, Rhydon, and Quagsire without a second thought, which can easily clear a path for a teammate to sweep unimpeded. Regardless of the move you choose, both will hit Slowking, a very common threat, for super effective damage. Psycho Cut fills up the last moveslot as it allows Gallade to get past Qwilfish and Amoonguss without much difficulty, while also OHKOing Emboar, a common revenge killer that typically targets Gallade.</p>
[ADDITIONAL COMMENTS]
<p>A Jolly nature is used to ensure Gallade outspeeds positive base 75s, notably Smeargle. Although you can use an Adamant nature to give Gallade more power, the ability to outspeed Smeargle unconditionally is usually too important to give up. If Gallade outspeeds Smeargle, then it's unable to cripple Gallade with Spore. With the offensive EV spread, it's easy to understand that you would want to use Close Combat. However, this is not advised under any circumstances as the staying power and flexibility Drain Punch brings is just too good to give up. The reason Gallade is able to use a Life Orb in the first place is because of the healing side effect of Drain Punch, and the use of Life Orb will help to offset the power difference between Drain Punch and Close Combat. X-Scissor is the most notable coverage move that can be used on this set. It's the strongest move Gallade has to handle Tangrowth, and it will retain coverage on all Psychic-types with the exception of Sigilyph. Stone Edge is another alternative coverage move that can be used if you absolutely hate Sigilyph and Moltres. However, Sigilyph is hit hard enough by Night Slash and Moltres is OHKOed by Psycho Cut after Stealth Rock damage.</p>
<p>Entry hazard support will go a long way to supporting this set as the opponent will likely be forced to switch again after Gallade sets up a Substitute. Smeargle, Omastar, and Scolipede can provide Stealth Rock and Spikes support for more offensive-minded teams while more balanced teams can turn to the likes of Rhydon, Qwilfish, Ferroseed, and Mesprit for this support. Druddigon particularly makes for a very solid partner as it can not only set up Stealth Rock, but it can also keep up offensive pressure. As Gallade isn't the fastest thing in RU, paralysis support can be helpful as well to make it even easier for Gallade to sweep late-game. The aforementioned Ferroseed can provide this support on top of Spikes support while keeping Spiritomb in check without too much difficulty. Lanturn can also provide paralysis support and check Moltres throughout the match. It can also provide cleric support and use a slow Volt Switch to allow Gallade to switch in freely. Because this Gallade can be both a sweeper and a wallbreaker, it's very easy to form an offensive core with. Most Fire-types work very well with this set. Emboar is a great example, as it can easily check Spiritomb and Tangrowth, and it cleans up weakened teams with Flare Blitz after Gallade has done its job. Other Fire-types such as Typhlosion, Entei, and Moltres can also be effective in this regard. Without Night Slash, a Pursuit user such as Absol or Escavalier can be effective to trap Psychic-types such as Uxie and Mesprit. If Gallade forgoes Leaf Blade, it will need help to get around Alomomola and Quagsire. Grass-types such as Sceptile, Rotom-C, and Lilligant fit the bill nicely as they will find it much easier to sweep if Gallade has removed special walls. On the other hand, you can use a Spikes user such as Ferroseed or Roselia to take advantage of the low offensive presence these two Water-types have, which could help Gallade break past them later.</p>
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